05-05-2025
Ex-prosecutor accused in Howard Frankland stabbing takes stand to claim self-defense
A former federal prosecutor is making the case to a Pinellas judge that he acted in self-defense when he stabbed another driver after a traffic crash on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Patrick Scruggs smashed the man's window and stabbed him about seven times in the arm because he feared for his safety, he testified last week during a two-day hearing that ended Monday.
Witnesses, too, feared for their lives. But they recalled being more terrified of the man wielding a knife and stained with blood than the driver who caused the crash.
One witness said Scruggs came after him with the knife before plunging it into the victim. Two others said Scruggs walked away, then returned to the car and began stabbing the man a second time. Scruggs denied he stabbed him again.
'I realized something was wrong and my first thought was I just needed to figure out what's going on,' Scruggs said. 'I need to stop this driver, whatever's going on. And that's when I grabbed the pocket knife, because it was the first thing I could think of in the panic of the moment.'
The incident occurred on Sept. 26, 2023, when Blake Sharp stopped his Lexus in traffic and slumped over into the passenger seat. Another driver, Ahmed Gahaf, saw him and pulled over to try to help, he testified Friday.
Sharp's hands were trembling and he seemed to be impaired, both Gahaf and Scruggs testified.
When Gahaf returned to his car to search for a tire iron to break the window and render aid, Sharp suddenly sped forward, crashing into the back of his car. Sharp then backed up and veered into a left lane, where he collided with Scruggs' Honda Civic, Gahaf said.
Gahaf waved his arms to signal for help, he said.
Scruggs got out of his car, clutching a small pocket knife that he intended to use to break Sharp's car window, according to filings made by Scruggs' lawyers.
The car door was locked, so Scruggs used the back of the knife to shatter the window. When he reached inside to turn the car off, a struggle between Scruggs and Sharp began.
Gahaf said he approached the car, but ran away after Scruggs turned and lunged at him with the knife.
'He almost stabbed me, too,' Gahaf testified. 'He was 3 feet from my chest.'
Scruggs said he thought Gahaf was a passenger in Sharp's car. He told Gahaf: 'Back the f—k up. Are you trying to kill me?'
In a 911 call played in court, Gahaf can be heard saying, 'No, no, not me.'
Moments later, Sharp tried to accelerate, according to video footage played in court Friday. Scruggs then stabbed him several times in his arm.
As Gahaf spoke with a 911 dispatcher, the court document states, Scruggs shouted into the phone, 'He's bleeding! I just stabbed him! He needs an ambulance!'
Amanda Post, another driver who recorded the stabbing and testified Friday, said Scruggs appeared 'angry' and aggressive.
'He looked enraged,' she said. 'I was afraid that maybe if he saw me take a video of it, he could break down my window and try to stab me.'
Post said she saw Scruggs walk away to make a phone call. But he returned minutes later.
'He went back to stab the man again,' she said. A second witness who testified corroborated Post's account.
Scruggs denied stabbing Sharp a second time.
'The only time I stabbed him was that first burst,' Scruggs said. 'He was complying at that point, and he didn't seem to be as much of a threat.'
When St. Petersburg police arrived, Scruggs cooperated. He appeared calm and collected, one officer said Friday. Scruggs was arrested and booked on aggravated battery and other charges.
Scruggs, of Tampa, spent about a decade of his career in the U.S. Attorney's Office. Before joining an Atlanta-based private law firm in May 2023, he appeared on behalf of the federal government during hearings for Florida residents accused of taking part in the riots at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the court filing, Scruggs' lawyers alleged Sharp was trying to flee the scene of the crash, that he was intoxicated and that he knew he had multiple arrest warrants.
Sharp, who has since been sentenced to prison for a probation violation in a Hernando County case, denied that he was under the influence or that he was trying to flee when he collided with Scruggs' car.
He testified Friday that he fainted while driving to work from his Seffner home.
'I woke up to Mr. Scruggs trying to stab me through the window,' he said. 'I thought I was going to die in my car.'
Scruggs severed all the tendons in Sharp's left arm and sliced an artery in his wrist. Sharp said he still hasn't regained full strength in his hand and arm.
Defense attorneys asked Sharp about his previous charges. At the time of the stabbing, Sharp was on probation after being convicted of a DUI when he was found passed out behind the wheel near Tropicana Field.
Scruggs argued it was Sharp who escalated the situation. When Scruggs reached inside the car to take the keys, he said Sharp tried to pull him into the car, cutting his arms against the shattered window glass.
'I was worried he was going to grab the knife out of my right hand,' Scruggs said.
Assistant State Attorney Nathan Vonderheide asked Scruggs whether he was angry Sharp had hit his car.
'I have a 2018 Honda Civic. I couldn't care less about my car,' he said. 'I was in shock from getting rammed at pretty high speed.'
Lee Pearlman, Scruggs' lawyer, said his client found himself in a 'highly dangerous situation.' He argued Scruggs was trying to protect himself and other drivers on the road and should be immune from prosecution under the stand your ground law.
'In all of this, Mr. Scruggs was attempting to prevent what appeared to be a very obviously impaired driver from harming himself with the vehicle,' Pearlman said. 'But also to prevent that man from trashing his own vehicle and continuing to flee down the bridge during rush hour traffic.'
On the books since 2005, the stand your ground law extended self-defense in Florida by removing what's known as the 'duty to retreat' when a person is faced with the threat of a violent confrontation. It permits the use of deadly force in situations where a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.
If a judge determines a case meets the criteria for the law, the defendant will be declared immune from prosecution. The law received strong support from the National Rifle Association when it passed.
To qualify for immunity, Vonderheide argued Scruggs must have acted as a 'prudent person' would have in the face of an 'imminent threat.'
Scruggs acted imprudently and was not in immediate danger, he said.
'What he also demonstrated throughout his testimony is that he's clearly frustrated and angry about this situation,' Vonderheide said.
Scruggs' lawyers asked their client whether he had expected a violent struggle on the bridge that morning.
'I had no idea this was what I was getting into,' Scruggs said from the stand. 'And, honestly, looking back, there's no way I would intervene again.'
Post, the witness who recorded the incident, was there when police arrived and cuffed Scruggs.
'He looked like he was proud of himself,' she testified. 'He looked smug.'
A Pinellas judge is expected to rule on whether the case will be dismissed by May 16.
Times staff writer Dan Sullivan contributed to this report.
